Cleaning device for cleaning hook-and-loop fasteners

ABSTRACT

A cleaning device ( 10; 110; 210 ), in particular for cleaning hook-and-loop fasteners, includes a plurality of projections ( 16; 116; 216 ) which project inclined from a surface ( 13; 113;   213 ) of the cleaning device, such that between the projections and the surface ( 13; 113; 213 ) there is formed a mouth ( 17 ) respectively, the cross-section of which is tapering in an xz-plane from a mouth opening (B, D) in a sharp angled manner towards a vertex (C) wherein the mouth opening (B, D) includes an angle (α) in the xz-plane of 10 to 40° with the vertex (C) as center of the angle (α).

The invention relates to a cleaning device, in particular for cleaninghook-and-loop fasteners, and even more preferred for cleaning thehook-part of the hook-and-loop fasteners.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hook-and-loop fasteners are very commonly used in our daily life andproofed to be convenient and secure fastening means. However, over time,when the hook-and-loop fasteners get in contact with fuzzy objects, suchas fabric, the fuzz or threads easily get caught by the fasteners, inparticular by the hook-part of the fasteners. The good fasteningproperties of the fasteners make it difficult to remove thesecontaminants again.

In the state of the art, cleaning devices for cleaning hook-and-loopfastening systems have been provided, such as in WO 2000/78179 A1.

The state of the art also includes WO 03000104 A1, which disclosesdisposable cleaning sheets for removing debris from a surface. Eachsheet comprises a substrate and a plurality of protrusions affixed tothe substrate, wherein the cleaning sheet is removably attachable to acleaning implement. The protrusions are preferably hook-shaped. Thepreferred hook-shaped protrusions can be made of certain thermoplasticresins and can have certain geometric configurations. The protrusionscan be affixed to the substrate via a variety of process and arepreferably affixed to the substrate in one or more zones of thesubstrate.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,339 A discloses a hook for hook and loop fasteners,having a profile defined by an inner smoothly contoured generallyconcave face and an outer generally convex face. A a loop engaging thehook in tension, with the applied force being substantially normal tothe base member, will deform the hook portion resiliently under theapplied force to release the loop at a desired applied force and suchthat a loop engaging the hook in shear, with the applied forcesubstantially parallel to the base member, will engage the sturdy basemember, the sturdy base member being sufficiently sturdy that it willnot deform to release a loop engaging the hook in shear at or below thedesired applied force.

However, there is still room for improvement for those cleaning devicesin terms of smoothness of removal of the contaminants, preservation ofthe hook-and-loop fastener itself when being cleaned and efficiency ofcleaning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device,in particular for cleaning hook-and-loop fasteners having improvedcleaning properties.

This object is solved with a cleaning device according to theindependent claim. Advantageous further developments are subject of thedependent claims.

According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided acleaning device, in particular for cleaning hook-and-loop fasteners butalso suitable for textile surfaces, characterized by a plurality ofprojections which project inclined from a surface of the cleaningdevice, such that between the projections and the surface there isformed a mouth respectively, the cross-section of which is tapering inan xz-plane from a mouth opening in a sharp angled manner towards avertex wherein the mouth opening includes an angle in the xz-plane of 10to 40° with the vertex as center of the angle. In this context thetapering in a sharp angled manner may include a tapering along straightlines or a tapering along curved lines. The tapered shape of the mouthformed by the projections has the effect that contaminations, such asfibers, threads or fuzz, are caught by the relatively large mouthopening, guided towards the vertex of the mouth and then pinched at thevertex by the sharp angled tapering of the mouth. The angle of 10 to 40°is considered to provide a good relationship between the ability of thecleaning device to catch the contaminations at the mouth opening and topinch them at the vertex.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the surface is acurved surface having an outwardly curved cross-section in an xz-plane.The advantage of this embodiment is that due to the curved shape of thesurface on which the projections are arranged, the projections caneasily reach into the hooks of the hook-and-loop fasteners.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the curved surface hasa constant curvature, wherein a maximal dimension of the curved surfacein a z-direction which is in the xz-plane (the arc height of the curvedsurface), is between 1 and 10% of the maximum dimension of the curvedsurface in an x-direction, which is in the xz-plane and perpendicular tothe z-direction. Even more preferably this ratio is between 2 and 7%.These mentioned ranges are considered to provide good properties withrespect to the projection's effectiveness to reach into the hooks whenthe cleaning device is slid over the hook-and-loop fasteners.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the projections aretapered towards their mouth openings when looking towards the surface ofthe cleaning device in a z-direction which is perpendicular to the x-and y-direction. This improves the ability of the projections' tips tocatch and reach into the hooks when being slid over the hook-and-loopfasteners.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a surface of theprojections, which faces away from the surface of the cleaning device,has a curved shape. This provides a smoother handling and slidingproperties during use.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the projections areformed monolithically with the surface of the cleaning device.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the cleaning device isconstructed such that between the mouths and the surface of the cleaningdevice there is provided a wedge respectively, which wedge ismonolithically formed with the respective projection and has awedge-shaped cross-section in an xz-plane. This embodiment provides thebenefit that the contaminations are guided into the mouth while thecleaning device is slid during use. Thus, the contaminants are alreadyloosened when being pinched at the vertex of the mouth. The wedge alsoestablishes a better angle of attack with respect to the line connectingC and D in the Figures.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the cleaning devicefurther comprises a plurality of slots being opened towards the surfaceof the cleaning device, and a plurality of projection inserts which areadapted to be inserted into the slots, wherein a portion of eachprojection insert forms one of the projections. This embodiment has theadvantage of providing a cheaper way of manufacturing the cleaningdevice, because the projection inserts could be punched from aplate-like raw material instead of milling or moulding the projections.Another advantage is that a material could be used for the inserts andthus the projections, which is different from the material of thecleaning device body in which the slots are formed. Moreover, by usingthe projection inserts, the mouth can be formed with a sharper angle atthe vertex compared to the manufacturing by milling or moulding. Such asharper angle has improved pinching properties.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the projection insertshave a plate-like shape comprising a cuboid base portion and ahook-shaped upper portion, wherein the hook-shaped upper portion formsthe projection by projecting partially out from the slot beyond thesurface of the cleaning device. This way, the dimension of theprojections can be adjusted before being fixedly positioned.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the surface of thecleaning device is an outer surface of a material layer, wherein theprojection is formed by a triangular portion of the material layer, inwhich two sides of the triangular shape are punched and one side is usedas a bending line for bending the triangular shape away from the surfaceof the cleaning device. This embodiment provides a relatively costefficient way of providing the cleaning device.

These and other embodiments are described in more detail with referenceto the Figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a cleaning device according toa first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 shows the geometry of aprojection of the cleaning device of FIG. 1 in a cross-sectional viewcut along an xz-plane;

FIG. 3 shows a three-dimensional view of a curved surface withprojections of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged three-dimensional view of the projections ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows the cleaning device of FIG. 1 in a cross-sectional view cutalong the xz-plane;

FIG. 6 shows an unrolled top view of the curved surface of the cleaningdevice of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 shows a three-dimensional view of a part of a cleaning deviceaccording to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 shows a projection insert of the cleaning device of FIG. 7,wherein FIG. 8a is a front view, FIG. 8b is a side view, and FIG. 8c isa top view;

FIG. 9 shows the entire cleaning device of FIG. 7 without the projectioninserts;

FIG. 10 shows a three-dimensional view of a part of a cleaning deviceaccording to a third embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 11 shows a side view of FIG. 10 as seen when looking along ay-direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For reasons of clarity, all Figures indicate a three- or two-dimensionalcoordinate system indicated with x-, y- and z-axes, wherein these axesare perpendicular to each. A xy-plane is spanned by the x- and y- axis,an xz-plane is spanned by the x- and z-axis, and an yz-plane is spannedby the y- and z-axis.

FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of the cleaning device 10according to a first embodiment of the invention. This cleaning device10 has a substantially cuboid-shaped body, having two plain end surfaces11 extending substantially in an yz-plane, two side surfaces 12extending substantially in an xz-plane and which are curved slightlyinwards (a cross-section in the yz-plane is curved inwards) in order toprovide improved gripping properties, a curved surface 13 and oppositethereto a plain bottom side 14 extending in an xy-plane. However, thecleaning device body could have any suitable shape, either adapted to beused as a handle for manual use or any other shape such as a sledadapted to slide on a rail in case of an automated use, e.g. in thetextile industry.

The curved surface 13 is curved such that it has a curved cross-sectionwhen cut along an xz-plane. The curvature is preferably constant havinga radius R2 (as indicated in FIG. 2). From the curved surface 13, aplurality of projections 16 are projecting which are described in moredetail together with the following Figures, in which FIG. 2 shows thegeometry of a projection 16 in a cross-sectional view cut along thexz-plane, FIG. 3 shows a three-dimensional view of the curved surface 13with the projections 16, FIG. 4 shows an enlarged three-dimensional viewof the projections 16, FIG. 5 shows the cleaning device 10 in across-sectional view cut along the xz-plane, and FIG. 6 shows anunrolled top view of the curved surface.

The projection 16 which is shown in FIG. 2 represents the plurality ofprojections 16. In a y-direction, the space in between two adjacentprojections 16 is preferably such that a human finger can pass throughin order remove the contaminations after using the cleaning device. Inan x-direction, the space in between two adjacent projections 16 ispreferably smaller than the x-length of one projection 16. As shown, theprojection 16 projects oblique from the curved surface 13 and terminatesin a tip. In FIG. 2 basically the area in between the reference signs A,B, C and R2 is referred to as a “projection”. In a cross-section in anxz-plane, the projections 16 taper towards the tip. Between theprojection 16 and the curved surface 13 there is formed a mouth 17 whichis a hollow space tapering (in a xz-plane) from a mouth opening B, Dtowards a vertex C with an angle α and which space is opened along ay-direction (or in other words: opened on the sides of the mouth). Thetapering angle α is defined as the angle included in between a line(imaginary or real—imaginary in case the real line from B to C is curvedand real in case it is in fact straight) from an upper edge B of themouth opening to the vertex C and a line (imaginary or real) from alower edge D of the mouth opening to the vertex C. The tapering angle αis preferably in between 10 and 40°, and more preferably in between 20to 30°, and even more preferably in between 23 to 27°. This sharp angledshape of the mouth has the effect that the contaminations, such asthreads, fibers or fuzz, are guided from the mouth opening B, D towardsthe vertex C and then pinched at the vertex C. Ideally the mouthterminates in a very sharp angle at the vertex C without any radius atthe vertex C. However, in realistic manufacturing processes there mightbe a small radius remaining, but it is beneficial to keep such a radiussmaller than the radius of the contaminations to be pinched in order tohave good pinching properties of the cleaning device. In FIG. 2, theupper edge B (shown as a point in FIG. 2) of the mouth openingcorresponds to the tip of the projection 16. Between the mouth 17 andthe curved surface 13 there is provided a wedge 18, which wedge ismonolithically formed with the projection 16 and has a wedge-shapedcross-section in an xz-plane which wedge tapers in a direction away fromthe vertex C towards an end of the wedge 18 forming the lower edge D ofthe mouth opening. In this embodiment, the surfaces from the upper andlower edges B, D of the mouth opening to the vertex C are plain,respectively, but they could also be curved. The upper surface 19 of theprojection 16 is curved with a preferably constant curvature having aradius R1 which is smaller than the radius R2 of the curved surface 13.The non-rounded illustration of this upper surface 19 in FIGS. 3 and 4is intended to be schematically. For reasons of clarity, in the Figuresthere is only one of the plurality of projections 16 and its associatedelements provided with reference signs.

The projections 16 are preferably formed such that in case there is animaginary tangent 15 drawn in a cross-sectional view as shown in FIG. 5,which tangent 15 connects the outer surfaces 19 of two adjacentprojections 16 (adjacent in the x-direction), then the tip of theprojections 16 are below the tangent 15.

As shown in particular in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, the projections 16 and thewedges 18 also taper in a top view towards their mouth openings B, Dwith an angle β which is preferably between 1 and 40°, and morepreferably between 5 and 30°, and more preferably between 5 and 15° inthe first embodiment and 10 and 25° in the later described thirdembodiment, and most preferably around 10° in the first embodiment.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show a cleaning device 110 according to a second embodimentof the invention. FIG. 7 shows a three-dimensional view of a part of thecleaning device 110, which part only includes one out of a plurality ofprojections 116. This cleaning device 110 has the same substantiallycuboid-shaped body as described in connection with the first embodiment.A curved surface 113 is curved as described in connection with thecurved surface 13 of the first embodiment. In contrast to the firstembodiment, in this second embodiment, the projection 116 is not formedmonolithically with the curved surface, but formed by a separatelyformed projection insert 120 which is shown in more detail in FIG. 8 inwhich FIG. 8a is a view along the x-direction, FIG. 8b is a view alongthe y-direction, and FIG. 8c is a view along the z-direction. Theseprojection inserts 120 are insertable into slots 121 which are formed inthe cleaning device 110 such that they are opened towards the curvedsurface 113 (see FIG. 9). Optionally, the slots 121 may also be openedon the bottom surface opposite to the curved surface 113. The projectioninserts 120 are adapted to the slots 121 such that they can be slid intothe slots and held aligned by the slots in a direction perpendicular tothe sliding direction. The projection inserts 120 have a plate-likeshape comprising a cuboid base portion 122 and a hook-shaped upperportion 123, wherein the hook-shaped upper portion 123 forms theprojection 116 by projecting partially out from the slot 121 beyond thecurved surface 113. By sliding the projection insert 120 in the slot121, a height of the projection in a z-direction beyond the curvedsurface 113 can be set. Thereafter, the projection insert 120 can befixed such that its position is maintained (also in the slidingdirection) by adhesive bonding, welding, screws, a snap mechanism, toname but a few. A space 124 of the slot 121 which is kept empty due tothe shape of the hook-shaped portion 123, could be filled with amaterial which is fluid when being filled in and which is self-curing orcan be cured to close the space 124 even to the curved surface 113. Inthe preferred case, however, it is kept empty.

In contrast to the first embodiment, there is no wedge present, but thesurface which is provided between the vertex C and the lower edge D inFIG. 2, is formed by the curved surface 113 at the edges of the slot 121and/or the above mentioned optionally filled in material which is evento the curved surface 113. Further, the projections 116 are also nottapered in a top view, but preferably have a constant thickness in ay-direction in this embodiment. Apart from these differences, thedescription of the first embodiment shall apply.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a cleaning device 210 according to a thirdembodiment of the invention. FIG. 10 shows a three-dimensional view of apart of the cleaning device 110, which part only includes one out of aplurality of projections 216. This cleaning device 210 also has acleaning device body as described in connection with the firstembodiment to which body a material layer 224 is attached by means ofwelding, adhesive, screws, etc. A curved surface 213 is curved asdescribed in connection with the curved surface 13 of the firstembodiment. FIG. 11 shows a side view of FIG. 10 as seen when lookingalong the y-direction. As shown, in contrast to the first embodiment, inthis third embodiment the projection 216 is not tapered in an xz-planetowards the projection tip, but has a constant material thickness.However, as can be seen in FIG. 10, the projection 216 is taperedtowards the tip in a xy-plane (in a top view). In the third embodiment,the curved surface 213 is the outer surface of the material layer 224,wherein the projection 216 is formed by a triangular portion of thematerial layer 224, in which two sides 225, 226 of the triangular shapeare cut and one side 227 is used as a bending line for bending thetriangular shape away from the curved surface 213.

In contrast to the first embodiment, there is no wedge present, but thesurface which is provided between the vertex C and the lower edge D inFIG. 2, is formed by the curved surface 213 and/or the curved surface213 at the edge of the two sides 225, 226 where the material layer 224is punched. Apart from these differences, the description of the firstembodiment shall apply.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, such illustration and descriptionare to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive andit is not intended to limit the invention to the disclosed embodiments.The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually differentdependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measurescannot be used advantageously.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. Cleaning device (10; 110; 210) for cleaninghook-and-loop fasteners, comprising a plurality of projections (16; 116;216), wherein the plurality of projections project inclined from asurface (13; 113; 213) of the cleaning device, such that between theprojections and the surface (13; 113; 213) there is formed a mouth (17)respectively, the cross-section of which is tapering in an xz-plane froma mouth opening (B, D) in a sharp angled manner towards a vertex (C)wherein the mouth opening (B, D) includes an angle (α) in the xz-planeof 10 to 40° with the vertex (C) as center of the angle (α). 12.Cleaning device (10; 110; 210) according to claim 11, wherein thesurface (13; 113; 213) is a curved surface having an outwardly curvedcross-section in an xz-plane.
 13. Cleaning device (10; 110; 210)according to claim 12, wherein the curved surface (13; 113; 213) has aconstant curvature, wherein a maximal dimension of the curved surface ina z-direction which is in the xz-plane, is between 1 and 10% of themaximum dimension of the curved surface in an x-direction, which is inthe xz-plane and perpendicular to the z-direction.
 14. Cleaning device(10; 110; 210) according to claim 11, wherein the projections (16; 116;216) are tapered towards their mouth openings (B, D) when lookingtowards the surface (13; 113; 213) of the cleaning device in az-direction which is perpendicular to the x- and y-direction. 15.Cleaning device (10; 110; 210) according to claim 11, wherein a surfaceof the projections (16; 116; 216), which faces away from the surface(13; 113; 213) of the cleaning device has a curved shape.
 16. Cleaningdevice (10; 210) according to claim 11, wherein the projections (16;216) are formed monolithically with the surface (13; 213) of thecleaning device.
 17. Cleaning device (10) according to claim 11, whereinbetween the mouths (17) and the surface (13) of the cleaning devicethere is provided a wedge (18) respectively, which wedge (18) ismonolithically formed with the respective projection (16) and has awedge-shaped cross-section in an xz-plane.
 18. Cleaning device (110)according to claim 11, further comprising a plurality of slots (121)being opened towards the surface (113) of the cleaning device, and aplurality of projection inserts (120) which are adapted to be insertedinto the slots (121), wherein a portion of each projection insert (120)forms one of the projections (116).
 19. Cleaning device (110) accordingto claim 18, wherein the projection inserts (120) have a plate-likeshape comprising a cuboid base portion (122) and a hook-shaped upperportion (123), wherein the hook-shaped upper portion (123) forms theprojection (116) by projecting partially out from the slot (121) beyondthe surface (113) of the cleaning device.
 20. Cleaning device (210)according to claim 11, wherein the surface (213) of the cleaning deviceis an outer surface of a material layer (224), wherein the projection isformed by a triangular portion of the material layer (224), in which twosides (225, 226) of the triangular shape are punched and one side (227)is used as a bending line for bending the triangular shape away from thesurface (213) of the cleaning device.
 21. Cleaning device (10; 110; 210)according to claim 12, wherein the projections (16; 116; 216) aretapered towards their mouth openings (B, D) when looking towards thesurface (13; 113; 213) of the cleaning device in a z-direction which isperpendicular to the x- and y-direction.
 22. Cleaning device (10; 110;210) according to claim 12, wherein a surface of the projections (16;116; 216), which faces away from the surface (13; 113; 213) of thecleaning device has a curved shape.
 23. Cleaning device (10; 210)according to claim 12, wherein the projections (16; 216) are formedmonolithically with the surface (13; 213) of the cleaning device. 24.Cleaning device (10) according to claim 12, wherein between the mouths(17) and the surface (13) of the cleaning device there is provided awedge (18) respectively, which wedge (18) is monolithically formed withthe respective projection (16) and has a wedge-shaped cross-section inan xz-plane.
 25. Cleaning device (110) according to claim 12, furthercomprising a plurality of slots (121) being opened towards the surface(113) of the cleaning device, and a plurality of projection inserts(120) which are adapted to be inserted into the slots (121), wherein aportion of each projection insert (120) forms one of the projections(116).
 26. Cleaning device (210) according to claim 12, wherein thesurface (213) of the cleaning device is an outer surface of a materiallayer (224), wherein the projection is formed by a triangular portion ofthe material layer (224), in which two sides (225, 226) of thetriangular shape are punched and one side (227) is used as a bendingline for bending the triangular shape away from the surface (213) of thecleaning device.
 27. Cleaning device (10; 110; 210) according to claim13, wherein the projections (16; 116; 216) are tapered towards theirmouth openings (B, D) when looking towards the surface (13; 113; 213) ofthe cleaning device in a z-direction which is perpendicular to the x-and y-direction.
 28. Cleaning device (10; 110; 210) according to claim13, wherein a surface of the projections (16; 116; 216), which facesaway from the surface (13; 113; 213) of the cleaning device has a curvedshape.
 29. Cleaning device (10; 210) according to claim 13, wherein theprojections (16; 216) are formed monolithically with the surface (13;213) of the cleaning device.
 30. Cleaning device (10) according to claim13, wherein between the mouths (17) and the surface (13) of the cleaningdevice there is provided a wedge (18) respectively, which wedge (18) ismonolithically formed with the respective projection (16) and has awedge-shaped cross-section in an xz-plane.